


Ask Me Properly

by MaggicSorceress



Series: Maggic's Undertale Human AU [12]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, M/M, Panic Attacks, THERE'S NOT ENOUGH CONTENT FOR THESE TWO, Template is a mess, but Pale kinda likes that, so I shall provide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-31
Updated: 2020-01-31
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:00:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22485235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaggicSorceress/pseuds/MaggicSorceress
Summary: Template has zero motivation to do anythingIt's not a good thing either
Relationships: Pale/Template, Sans/Sans (Undertale), Template/Pale
Series: Maggic's Undertale Human AU [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1623928
Comments: 14
Kudos: 82





	Ask Me Properly

For the first time in…well…ever, Template felt listless. He lay, sprawled out on his bed with nothing to do. Nothing to even occupy his thoughts. He just stared blankly up at the ceiling in a vain _hope_ that some motivation or inspiration would be spelt out in the little dots that dusted the surface. He had tried earlier to pull himself out of his funk, watching one of his favourite Ghibli movies, drawing; he even tried to write, but no matter what it seemed this perpetual state of ‘meh’ was here to stay. At least, for the time being. Template hated not doing anything, especially when there were things he _could_ be getting done for school. It made him feel lazy, like he was wasting valuable time.

Which was why he was a bit angry with himself at the moment. Briefly, he remembered what one of his classmates had said to him during one of their graphic design classes. The other man’s name was Ink and, although Template didn’t like comparing his own skills to other people’s, his technique and shading were absolutely _gorgeous and oh my god teach me senpai_. That might have been his inner weeb showing though, he wasn’t sure. Regardless, Ink had once told him that sometimes very creative people, himself included, fell into blocks like this all the time. According to Ink, Template, who wouldn’t deny any of this since it _was_ technically true, was like a firecracker when it came to creative outlets, or any outlets in general. Ink had warned him this would happen, that he would burn himself out eventually, and he hadn’t listened. Not that he usually does, but he likes to think he makes a point of listening when _Ink_ of all people tells him something. When Template had asked Ink what he usually did to get out of a funk like that, Ink had just smiled and mumbled something about his boyfriend.

Error. Right. In Template’s opinion, which he had openly voiced to Ink once, Error felt way too _boring_ to be dating Ink of all people. Whatever, it really wasn’t his place to say anyway since had never met the guy.

Back to the topic at hand, Template was _bored_ but he didn’t really want to do _anything_. It was an interesting middle zone to be in, that was for sure. He felt restless, but at the same time he wanted to take a nap. It was kind of peaceful to not have his head crowded in thoughts for once. He let his eyes slip shut and the darkness soothe him, even as his fingers continued to twitch from where they lay across his stomach. Maybe a nap wouldn’t be so bad…

“Is this what you do here all day? Cause that doesn’t seem very in character.” A mellow voice that Template recognized immediately said from somewhere near his bedroom door. He yelped, pushing himself up and glaring at the owner of said voice.

“How the heck did you even get in?!” Template cried, feeling a little violated that Pale had just waltzed into his apartment without even knocking.

Pale shrugged, a tiny smile making itself known in the dimples on his cheeks. “I broke your door down.”

“You WHAT?!” Not even worrying about the fact that he was still in his pyjamas, Template shot off of his bed. Pale let out a little chuckle and blocked the doorway of his bedroom, effectively cutting off Templates path.

“I’m joking, Temp.” Pale said, as monotone as ever. With the sudden bust of anxiety gone from him, Template smacked Pale in the arm with a frustrated groan.

“Don’t _do_ that to me, you jerk!” He said. A slight smirk fell onto Pale’s face again.

“I wouldn’t break your door down.” Pale said. “Your doorknob however…” When Template’s left eye physically twitched, Pale actually laughed. “ _Relax_. You’re too easy to mess with.” He held up a spare bronze key, one that Template normally kept hidden in a crevice in the concrete wall by his front door. Template huffed and snatched the key from his grasp, flushing when he realized how much of a mess he must have looked, still in his night clothes with his hair not even brushed and his glasses resting on his desk.

“Still, you shouldn’t go wandering into people’s houses without knocking. It’s rude.” Template reprimanded, running a hand through his hair in a vain attempt to tame it without a brush. Pale just shrugged, leaning against the doorway in a way that made him seemed bored.

“Well I know you so.” Pale said. “It’s not a big deal.”

“It is a big deal!” Template said, voice carrying off into a murmur. “I’m not even dressed yet…”

Pale raised an eyebrow. “What was that?”

Template scowled and rolled his eyes, grabbing his glasses off his desk and slipping them onto his nose. “Forget it. It’s not important anymore.” Pale shrugged, pushing himself away from the doorframe.

“Alright.” He said. “I’ll get going then.” Template shook himself from whatever trance he had entered in the time between them speaking.

“What?” Template asked, blinking owlishly at Pale.

“I’m gonna go now.” Pale replied, already on his way out to the living room. He seemed to remember something and turned around once more. “By the way, cute PJs.” And then he was gone.

Trying to ignore the heat in his face, Template yelled after him as he heard his front door shut. “Weirdo!”

Once he was done glaring at the now empty doorway to his room, he spared a glance down at what he was wearing. An old pair of light blue pyjama pants with white-ish clouds on it that had definitely seen better days, and a plain grey shirt that was about four sizes too big for him. Overall, not really anything super embarrassing, or cute in his opinion. They didn’t even match. By process of deduction, he realized that Pale was just messing with him again and decided to go on with his day.

First matter of business being to actually get dressed, and maybe eat something.

~

A week had passed, and Template was still in a funk, and he was _angry_. He wanted to _do something_ gosh dang it, there were things for his classes that _needed_ to get done! He had been pacing circles around his apartment all day, texting Ink occasionally in hopes that the older artist would say something to give him inspiration or motivation. He felt bad for bothering him, especially on a weekend, but he was _losing his mind_.

“Do you…ever sit down?”

The sudden voice had him jumping so violently that he dropped his phone with a loud clatter. Pale was sitting, more accurately lounging, on his couch. He was eating popcorn, for some reason, which was strange cause he didn’t recall hearing his microwave go off. So, he must have brought it. Still quite a bit annoyed at Pale’s sudden ‘not-break-in’ to his apartment, he decided he wasn’t much for humouring the monochrome man.

“ _Stop. Doing. That._ ” He warned, picking up his phone and checking the screen for cracks. “Pale I am really _not_ in the mood for your practical jokes today.”

Pale whistled, low and tuneless. “Wow. What crawled up your ass and died?”

Template sputtered for a moment, realized that was the exact reaction Pale wanted from him, and stopped. “That pet snake of yours that you love so much.”

“That’s a shame.” Pale responded, devoid of any emotion. “Can I at least have his corpse back?”

Template took a breath, but he could hear his pulse roaring in his ears and felt the tremors being sent through his body. He knew he was shaking where he stood, but he also knew it wasn’t from anger. Something in him was crashing, overwhelmed, and before he knew it his knees had buckled, and he was on his floor. His throat felt tight, but he had no idea why he wanted to cry all of a sudden. Template felt overwhelmed and frustrated, but not with the other man lounging on his couch or the one he had been texting. He was frustrated with _himself_. He couldn’t shake this lack of motivation. He needed to get things done, he had so much he had to do but he just _couldn’t_ do it. All of his assignments were due within the week and there was _no way he could get it all done it was too much he was going to fail all his classes and people were going to hate him and-_

“Template. Breathe. You’re having a panic attack again.” A soothing voice cut through the depths of his inner monologue. Raising his tear stained face, he was met with the unusual sight of Pale’s face twisted in concern. There was something warm in his amber eyes though, and Template took solace in it, trying to calm himself. Roughly, he rubbed the tears from his cheeks, peeling his glasses off to rub at his eyes.

“Sorry.” He said. “I don’t know what came over me all of a sudden.”

“You’re overwhelmed.” Pale supplied. “You’ve been working too hard again, haven’t you?”

Template shook his head, taking a wavering breath. “No, not that at all! I haven’t been doing _anything_ and I have no motivation to do _anything_! There’s so much I need to do but I can’t even begin to attempt to get it all done and it’s just…” His voice choked on a sob, but he pushed past it. “I’m so _frustrated_ with myself, and I feel like even if I _do_ get stuff done its never gonna be _good enough_! I’m already not doing too great in my other classes and if I don’t hand in my work my grades will go down and _I’m gonna fail everything and I won’t get my degree and_ -”

“ _Template_.” A pair of cool hands cupped his jaw and his mouth snapped shut with an audible click. “Stop.” Pale said, smoothing a thumb along one of his cheeks, brushing away tears. “You’re not going to fail anything. The fact that you’re stressing out about this means that you are _trying your best_. Don’t you think that’s good enough?”

Template was at a loss for what to say. Pale had never, _never_ , spoken so gently to him or really touched him before. Pale wasn’t a really touchy-feely person by nature, and Template didn’t care for other people touching him, so the sudden sweet gesture was really out of left field. In his mind, something clicked, and he realised he didn’t dislike the sudden touch. Because it was _Pale_. Heat rose to his face. ‘Well, of course it’s fine if it’s Pale.’ He told himself. ‘I’ve known him forever!’

“You’re always so obsessed with that, y’know?” Pale said and Template turned his attention back to the man kneeling in front of him. When he raised an eyebrow, Pale continued. “Being good enough.” The movement of Pale’s thumb on his cheek stopped, and his hands crept up a little higher, framing his face. “You’re always obsessing over what people think of you, if you meet the standards of what _they_ deem is good enough. Why isn’t meeting your own standards enough for you?” Template, feeling like a fruit that had just been peeled bare, couldn’t maintain eye contact with Pale anymore. They were silent for a long time, and Template didn’t need to see Pale’s eyes to know they were pleading with him when Pale spoke again. “Temp?”

“…I don’t know.” Template murmured. “I know you want an answer, but I don’t really have one.”

“Then tell me what you’re thinking.” Pale said, voice smooth and steady.

“I…” Template began. It was a lot easier to understand his feelings in his own mind and he wasn’t quite sure how to communicate them. “I want people to like me.”

“Not everyone you meet is gonna like you Template.”

“I know that!” Template said. “But…isn’t it worth a shot?”

Pale sighed, a moment of frustration leaking through his normally stoic mask as he rolled his eyes. “Not if you have to change the kind of person you are.”

“But I don’t-“

“Not really.” Pale supplied. “Not in the way most people think. You just spend so much time worrying about whether or not other people like you that I think you forget that _you_ need to like you. Do you kind of understand what I’m saying?” Again, Template was at a loss for words. He thought Pale deserved at least some sort of response though, so he nodded his head. Pale offered him a small smile and removed his hands from Template’s face. He mourned the loss of the cold hands for a moment, until his thoughts caught up and he wondered _why_.

“Pale…?” Template began, hesitant. When Pale tilted his head in silent question, he continued. “Thank you.”

Pale blinked, evidently a little taken aback. “What for?” He asked, laughing a little strangely.

Template smiled at him, fixing his glasses back onto his face. “For everything.” It might have been his still watery eyes playing tricks on him, but he could’ve sworn Pale’s face turned a bit red.

“You don’t have to thank me.” Pale said, rubbing a hand at the back of his neck. “Someone’s gotta watch out for you.” Although Pale’s words were sweet, Template bristled a little.

“I’m a grown adult, I can watch over myself thank-you-very-much.” He said, pouting a little. After a moment, he hoisted himself back up to his feet and extended a hand to Pale. “What are you doing here again anyway?”

Pale, although curious at the gesture that Template hadn’t offered him before, took the outstretched hand and clambered to his feet as well. “Eh, I just got bored. There’s nothing to do at my place.” Template rolled his eyes.

“That’s because you’re too stingy to buy yourself a TV, dummy.”

Pale chuckled a bit at that very true comment, only then noticing that their hands were still linked. He pulled away, feeling the heat in his face. “Sorry.”

Template shifted awkwardly, clasping his empty hands behind his back in an attempt to not miss the steady pressure of Pale’s own. “It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize.”

The silence that settled over the two of them was…awkward. Template knew his sudden panic attack hadn’t helped that, he suddenly wished he could take back the last ten or so minutes. Or at least make it so Pale wasn’t there to witness it. Pale, wanting to clear the atmosphere, moved a little closer hand placed a hand hesitantly on Template’s arm.

“Let’s go somewhere.” He suggested. “You need to get out of your house for a bit, regardless of everything you need to do.” Template cocked his head to the side, not starting quite as much as he expected to from Pale’s touch.

“Where?” Template asked, watching a slow soft smile creep onto Pale’s face. He realized, quite suddenly, how much _younger_ Pale looked when he smiled. How it smoothed the edges of his face, the dimples making it look rounder and softer. He realised that he very much liked that smile and he wanted to see more of it.

“Wherever you want.” Pale said. Template noticed that Pale was avoiding his gaze, eyes wandering everywhere. He seemed shy, which was odd. Odder yet was how that light dusting of pink had yet to leave the others cheeks…

“Pale…” Template began, dots finally connecting in his mind, a little unsure. “I could be reading this wrong but…is this your weird way of asking me on a date?”

Pale tensed and looked at him coolly, jaw tight. “Depends on if you want to go or not.”

Template took a moment to process everything and promptly burst out laughing. When he realised how that might have seemed from Pale’s perspective, he tried to explain himself through his giggles. “I’m not laughing at you! It’s just…hahaha…this entire day has been such a _mess_! I had a literal _breakdown_ in front of you, and now you’re asking me on a _date?_ ” It was too much, his entire body shook from his laughter, tears dampening the corners of his eyes. “ _God,_ did seeing me such a mess make you wanna ask me out?” He looked back up to Pale as he asked, shoulders still shaking.

The look Pale was giving him was soft, much softer than anything Template had seen thus far. Then, his hands reached down until he was holding Template’s gently, loosely, so Template could pull away with the slightest of movements. Template didn’t, his laughter stopped, and he froze at the contact, but something in him _relished_ in it. The coolness of Pale’s hands was soothing, but not to his skin. It calmed his mind in a way nothing else seemed to do.

“That’s not why.” Pale said. “I’ve always wanted to ask you, but you’re always busy doing something that I never got the chance to.” The confession startled him, but not quite as much as the brilliantly toothy smile Pale shot at him afterwards. Template’s heart pounded, but he felt warm all over instead of anxious. “So?”

“Ask me properly.” Template said, heart in his throat.

Pale flushed a darker red, smile wavering. “Will…you go out with me?”

A sudden feeling of pure _joy_ erupted in his stomach. Template wasn’t sure when, or how, or _why_ the idea of dating his monotonous best friend felt so appealing to him, but it was happening now, and he knew he wouldn’t rather be with anyone else. So, he gave the hands in his grasp a gentle squeeze and smiled.

“Yes.”

**Author's Note:**

> So this is kind of new  
> But I've adopted Template and there's nothing you guys can do about it  
> Go figure I'd write the swap equivalent for Errorink lmao  
> Thanks for reading guys!  
> -Maggic


End file.
